Game Preview: Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim @ New York Yankees 6/6

The New York Yankees are playing a rare Saturday game under the lights at Yankee Stadium as the Yankees play host to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in their second game of this three game weekend set in the Bronx. The Yankees will send Adam Warren to the mound looking to continue his streak of well-pitched games while the Angels will send Garrett Richards to the mound looking to spoil that streak for the Yankees fifth starter. The game will be played at 7:15 pm ET and can be seen on FOX.

• Warren has been sharp over his last few starts and was especially sharp in a tough-luck loss to the Oakland Athletics last time out. Warren made one mistake in the contest and allowed two runs to score over his seven innings pitched dropping his record to 1-3 in his last four starts and his ERA to 2.70.

• Richards is pitching tonight instead of tomorrow afternoon since the Angels had an off-day on Thursday that allowed the team to temporarily move Matt Shoemaker to the bullpen. Richards will pitch on normal rest after picking apart the Tampa Bay Rays in his last start.

There will be no rally monkey’s to save the Angels this time around in the Bronx there will only be thousands of the smartest and best fans in the world, in my very bias and humbled opinion, which can only bode well for New York tonight in the Bronx. Go Yankees!

The Yankees Pitching Depth in 2016 Will Almost Be Unfair

If you ask any perennial winner in Major League Baseball in the last 10-15 years what was the key to their success I bet more times than not they will mention in some capacity the depth of the club. Over the grind that is a 162 game schedule injuries will happen, players will need days off, players will go through hot and cold streaks and sometimes the team is going to lose more than they win. That’s baseball, but the good teams always have a Plan B and a Plan C and so on to protect against these sorts of happenings and the Yankees may have more plans than they know what to do with after the 2015 season.

Under contract for the pitching staff in 2016 is Masahiro Tanaka, Michael Pineda, Nathan Eovaldi, CC Sabathia, Ivan Nova and Adam Warren in the rotation while Andrew Miller, Dellin Betances, Justin Wilson, Chasen Shreve and Jacob Lindgren will all presumably be on the team and in the bullpen next season. Theoretically that is 11 roster spots locked up for next season with only 12 available spots leaving a spot for either a starting pitcher to move Warren back to the bullpen, a long man in the bullpen or another relief pitcher if Warren is kept in the rotation. That’s already a ton of, for lack of a better word, certainty for the 2016 Yankees when we sit here on a Saturday morning in June of 2015 isn’t it?

With all these players already on the active roster you will have a plethora of free agent signings and/or prospects vying for a limited number of spots on the team. Chase Whitley will return from Tommy John surgery sometime in the season if all goes well while Luis Severino, who was recently promoted to Triple-A, will likely be ready to crack the Yankees rotation if there’s room. Bryan Mitchell looks ready in the Scranton starting rotation and is already on the team’s 40 man roster while players like Branden Pinder and Jose Ramirez have made their debuts in the Yankees bullpen in recent seasons. The list goes on and on with less “sexy” names like Nick Goody, Joel De La Cruz,  Nick Rumbelow, Marl Montgomery, Brady Lail, Miguel Sulbaran and many others that are currently in Double-A or Triple-A currently. That’s a ton of arms capable of a ton of innings and a ton of victories that would generally get left on the field if one of the Yankees regulars went down and over 162 games that’s extremely important.

All this and we haven’t even gotten to the 2015 MLB First Year Player’s Draft yet…. Scary. 

Quick Hit: Why Not Chris Martin?

On Thursday night the Yankees GM Brian Cashman announced that the team would be in the market for right handed relief pitching at this year’s trade deadline after New York designated David Carpenter for assignment this week. New York currently boasts five left handed relief pitchers in their bullpen including closer Andrew Miller and Jacob Lindgren, Chasen Shreve, Chris Capuano and Justin Wilson. When I first heard the news I was a bit surprised because the first question that popped into my head is why not just call Chris Martin back up?

If you believe Martin, and that may be a stretch and an excuse and I do understand that, the injury occurred right around the time he became inconsistent in the bullpen. Martin pitched out of this world before that first series with the Tampa Bay Rays where supposedly the injury occurred. The injury is now fixed and rehabbed so why are we wasting his right arm in Triple-A with the Scranton Wilkes-Barre RailRiders and not slowly putting him back into Joe Girardi’s Circle of Trust? Why does the team have two long relief pitchers in Capuano and Esmil Rogers anyway?

Too many questions and not enough answers unfortunately. 

Weekly Check In: Jorge Mateo

Since we can’t watch Saturday morning cartoons anymore because someone thinks we should all go outside and play or some crap like that I figured let’s take advantage of all our free time and check in on Yankees shortstop prospect Jorge Mateo. Mateo started the season showcasing his blazing speed on the base paths as he attempted to chase down Billy Hamilton’s minor league single season stolen base record. While that chase has slowed down a bit over the past few weeks that doesn’t mean Mateo has as he continues to show the Yankees what the future may look like with him plugged in at the shortstop position.

Mateo is not going to hit you 30 home runs and he may not even get 30 double in a single season in his career essentially making him now what the Yankees thought they were getting with Didi Gregorius. A defensive minded and slick-gloved shortstop who lacks in the offensive department. Mateo, like Didi, is young and has plenty of time to turn it around with the bat and add a little pop into his swing but for now he is what he is. With or without a major bat in the lineup Mateo is still far and away the best Yankees shortstop prospect in the entire system until further notice. Here’s why:

Year	Lev	G	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	CS	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
2015	A	47	202	182	23	49	5	4	2	20	38	9	14	42	.269	.323	.374	.697

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table

Ivan Nova To Begin His Rehab Assignment Monday

Press release from the Tampa Yankees:



TAMPA, Fla. - Ivan Nova is scheduled to begin a rehab assignment with the Tampa Yankees on Monday, June 8th at George M. Steinbrenner Field according to Yankees GM Brian Cashman. 

Nova played for the Tampa Yankees in 2008 striking outs 109 batters over 148.2 innings. The righty has pitched 537.2 innings in the Majors over five years. 20.2 of those innings were at the start of the 2014 season before he went on the DL and had Tommy John Surgery.


The T-Yanks start up a four-game series Monday against the Jupiter Hammerheads (Marlins Affiliate) with the first pitch scheduled for 7:00pm and gates opening at 6:00pm.


Military Monday's with the Tampa Yankees offer free admission for all military personnel. Fans can take advantage of half price burgers & chicken tender baskets from 6:00-8:00pm. Tickets start at $4.00 and parking is free.


The Tampa Yankees are the Single-A Advanced affiliate of the New York Yankees. For more information on the Tampa Yankees visit www.tybaseball.com or call (813) 673-3055.

This Day in New York Yankees History 6/6: Welcome Back, Ichiro!

On this day in 2013 the Seattle Mariners welcomed back Ichiro Suzuki to Safeco Field for the first time this year since being traded to the New York Yankees at the end of the 2012 season. Ichiro was traded in 2012 while the Yankees were in Seattle but no festivities could be planned with that little notice. Ichiro had a .322 average in 12 seasons as a member of the Mariners.

Also on this day in 1999 Derek Jeter's streak of reaching base safely in 54 consecutive games comes to an end against the New York Mets. The Mets would win the game 7-2 in Yankee Stadium and keep Jeter off the base paths with no walks or hits. This game would also end the streak of 20 consecutive wins, an American League record, for Yankees pitcher Roger Clemens.

Also on this day in 1990 Stump Merrill replaced Bucky Dent as the manager of the New York Yankees. Merrill spent two years in the Yankees dugout and compiled a 120-155 record before being fired after the 1991 season and replaced by Buck Showalter.

Also on this day in 1971 the New York Yankees fans broke Yankee Stadium during a rally against the Kansas City Royals, literally. The Yankees hosted Bat Day on this day and every child received a youth sized Bobby Murder wooden Louisville Slugger replica bat. All the fans began banging their bats in unison during a 5-2 Yankees victory and caused pieces of concrete to fall into the lower levels of the stadium.

Also on this day in 1934 Myril Hoag became the first New York Yankee in franchise history to have six hits in one game. Hoag also set a major league record with all six hits being singles in the same game. The Yankees would rout the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park on this day 15-3.

Finally on this day in 1913 the New York Yankees lose at the Polo Grounds 2-1 for their 13th consecutive game without a victory. The Yankees have 12 losses and a 3-3 tie with the Boston Red Sox in the last two weeks of baseball. The Yankees set a franchise worst record of 9-34 to start the season.

Game Thread: Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim @ New York Yankees 6/5

The New York Yankees and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim begin a three game series this weekend at the Bronx tonight with what could become a great pitching matchup. The Yankees will send Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Nathan Eovaldi to the mound to face off with the Angels starter Jered Weaver. The game will be played at 7:05 pm ET and can be seen on the YES Network, MLB Network and MLB TV.

Get your Yankees tickets for tonight’s game or any game this series or home stand right here on the blog by clicking the Yankees Tickets link at the top of the blog. If you can’t make it live then join me on Twitter as @GreedyStripes makes his triumphant return to the Twitterverse tonight since the game isn’t being played in the middle of the night, I’m stoked.

Remember when the Angels were a thorn in the sides of Joe Torre’s Yankees? Yeah I don’t want to remember it either, let’s beat them tonight shall we? Go Yankees!

Could New York Have Acquired Mark Trumbo?

I don’t know if it’s just me or not but after every big trade that goes down I have to wonder if the New York Yankees could have pulled off a similar trade to improve the team. That was no different when I was checking MLB Trade Rumors and saw that the Seattle Mariners had acquired Mark Trumbo and Vidal Nuno from the Arizona Diamondbacks for catcher Wellington Castillo, a relief pitcher and two prospects I will not pretend to know anything about. Trumbo is a power hitting right handed bat that can play first base and the outfield and would make for an instant, and substantial, upgrade over Garrett Jones on the roster but could the Yankees have pulled it off?

The first thing that would work out in the Yankees favor is that Brian Cashman seemingly has a good working relationship with the GM of the Arizona Diamondbacks Dave Stewart. Cashman only seems to trade with certain teams, the Atlanta Braves, the Seattle Mariners, the D Backs, etc. so with that hurdle out of the way it would have come down to the package the Yankees could offer. You have to wonder if Seattle was genuinely interested in Nuno or if he was a throw in to offset some salary but for the sake of this post I’ll assume Seattle merely wanted him and the Yankees have little use for him leaving him out of any potential deal.

Arizona needed a catcher to replace the last catcher we traded them, Peter O’Brien, as he continues to struggle to throw the ball back to the pitcher and has been moved to the outfield and a catcher to back up newly called up Jarrod Saltalamacchia. Whether Austin Romine, Eddy Rodriguez or Gary Sanchez would have been enough or comparable to Castillo remains to be seen but even with Sanchez in the package you have to make the deal with Trumbo under contract for the 2015 and 2016 seasons. The Yankees have a plethora of young RHP arms that could have equaled or exceeded the relief pitcher Arizona acquired while New York at least matched the two lesser known prospects.

All in all in looks like New York could have matched Seattle in any package and made the deal for Trumbo. The costs probably would not have justified the means for what would become a part-time player in New York making the deal likely in the end but it still feels good to know that Cashman has the pieces in place to make a deal if he so wishes and if it makes the team better in the long run.

What If Brian McCann’s Foot Becomes a Long Term Problem

Brian McCann left the game with the Seattle Mariners on Thursday afternoon with a sore right foot, a foot problem that has caused him problems for a few weeks now. The team sent him to New York for an MRI as a precaution after x-rays came back negative on the injury. What would the Yankees do, if they could do anything, to replace McCann both behind the plate and in the lineup if the foot issue becomes a long term issue going forward?

The obvious choice for the starting catcher position would be John Ryan Murphy who is currently serving as the back up to McCann but who comes up to back up Murphy? Is it veteran Eddy Rodriguez who signed a minor league deal with the team to come out of retirement before the 2015 season? Is it Austin Romine who lost the backup catcher competition this spring training and has done little to make Joe Girardi’s decision look foolish? Or would it be a wildcard and a young prospect like Gary Sanchez who is currently tearing up Double-A pitching and making stride after stride defensively? The stats don’t tell all but they are a good place to start.

Romine:

Year	Lev	G	PA	AB	R	H	2B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
2015	AAA	37	153	136	22	33	10	3	16	14	19	.243	.320	.382	.703

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table

Rodriguez:

Year	Lev	G	PA	AB	R	H	2B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
2015	AAA	17	57	53	2	9	3	0	4	3	19	.170	.211	.226	.437

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table

Sanchez:

Year	Lev	G	PA	AB	R	H	2B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
2015	AA	39	172	158	21	41	7	6	23	4	11	37	.259	.314	.418	.732

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table

Basing it off stats alone you have to think that Sanchez would get it but based on reality he is the least likely of the three to get the shot. While Sanchez does have a leg up on the completion as he is already on the team’s 40 man roster you would have to think that Romine or Rodriguez would get the nod here. The team would likely call up Romine to see if he can improve on his spring stats if I were to take a guess but you never know. The most ideal situation would be that McCann’s foot is fine and the two days off did him a world of good. If not the Yankees offense is in big, big trouble.

Game Preview: Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim @ New York Yankees 6/5

The New York Yankees are well rested after their off day yesterday and come into tonight’s contest with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim boasting a modest three game winning streak. New York swept away Felix Hernandez, Robinson Cano and the Seattle Mariners earlier in the week before returning home to the Bronx to start this series. On the mound for the Yankees tonight is Nathan Eovaldi who will face off with the Angels starter Jered Weaver. The game will be played at 7:05 pm ET and can be seen on the YES Network, MLB Network and MLB TV.

• Eovaldi is coming off a start in which he allowed a season-high 11 hits to an anemic Oakland Athletics offense in 4.2 innings of work. Eovaldi has faced the Angels twice in his career as a member of the Miami Marlins posting a 6.75 ERA with a 0-1 record.

• Weaver is coming off five straight quality starts after finding a mechanical issue in his windup early in May. Weaver fixed his delivery in a bullpen session and has been on a roll ever since which is never a good sign for the New York Yankees.

The solution is simple, the more the Yankees win now the less they will have to win in September and into October. The Boston Red Sox are primed to make more than a few additions at this year’s trading deadline while the Seattle Mariners are already adding pieces for a potential Wild Card run. New York needs to win games because as the great Yogi Berra once said about 5,000,000 times, it’s getting late early. We’re already into June and before you know it we’ll be in August and September. Win now, beat the Angels. Go Yankees!